How to select the best sparkling wine gifts

With its effervescent nature and convivial connotations, sparkling wine simply screams “let’s celebrate!” If your friend just got married, colleague just closed a huge business deal, or someone in your family announced any significant event, sparkling wine is the perfect way to say congratulations.

What is sparkling wine?

In simple terms, all wine goes through a traditional fermentation process with sugar and yeast which in turn produces both alcohol and carbon dioxide. With non-sparkling wine, the carbon dioxide escapes before being bottled. But with sparkling wine, the carbon dioxide isn’t released; it’s kept in the bottle and produces a fun fizz when opened.

The difference between Champagne, Cava, and Prosecco

Sparkling wine is the general term for bubbly wine, and it includes the famous Prosecco, Cava, and Champagne. Champagne happens to be the most well known sparkling wine and it comes from the region of Champagne, France. Also from famed wine regions, Cava hails from Spain and Prosecco from Italy. So, what's the difference between these delicious fizzy wines?

Generally, Champagne is dryer, complex, and often considered more of a luxury than the other two forms of sparkling wine. Champagne wines can be produced with single year grapes (vintage) or a blend of grapes from multiple years (non-vintage). In particular, vintage Champagne has a reputation of being much higher quality than non-vintage due to the consistent higher quality within a batch of single grapes.

Spanish Cava is dry, earthy and pretty similar to non-vintage Champagne. In fact, Cava wine makers use the same production method (the Classic Method) as used for Champagne, but it is often not considered as high-end as most Champagnes. Using a blend of three Spanish grapes and faster production methods keep the cost at a minimum for Cava wine producers.

Prosecco, on the other hand, is known for being lighter, sweeter, and slightly frothy. Although this is a sparkling wine, Prosecco wine makers don’t use the Classic Method of production. Prosecco is made using the Tank Method, which is much more affordable and less involved. As a result, Prosecco is considered more budget friendly and perfect for those wanting a sweeter drink.

Pick according to the type of event

When choosing a sparkling wine gift to bring to an event, you have a couple options. For a casual backyard celebration of any sort, Cava and Prosecco are ideal. Both are still very celebratory, they don’t need to break the bank, and they’re appropriate for the relaxed atmosphere. On the other hand, for a formal affair, significant milestone, or major occasion, Champagne should always be your go-to gift!

Guaranteed winners

If you’re searching for the perfect sparkling wine gift online, I encourage you to browse our extensive selection of sparkling wines. For your convenience, you can even search by varietal, country, and price. But if you need to make a quick and high-quality decision, these two fine Champagnes are guaranteed winners:

Cristal is a legendary and coveted 100-point French Champagne. Beginning as a fine palace wine for King William, this vintage Champagne is known for its superbly aged golden color and blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Royalty, celebrities and wine experts alike praise this wine for being one of the top wines around the world.

Dom Perignon is similarly astounding. Purported to be the father of all Champagne, Dom Perignon continues to impress generation after generation. In fact, every vintage of Dom Perignon Champagne that Robert Parker has reviewed since 1982 has received scores in the high range of 92 to 98 points. It’s simple: expect to be impressed.

Last minute tip for chilling

So, you’re all set with your sparkling wine gift, but you need to leave in 5 minutes and chill the bubbly stat? Follow Dr. Vino’s tip for the fastest way to chill your sparkling wine. For this plan, you’ll need 4 items (plus the wine): a bucket, ice, cold water, and salt. Fill up your bucket halfway with the ice, sprinkle in a handful of salt, add cold water until the bucket is ¾ to the top, place the wine bottle in the bucket and...voilà!

PrimeWines provides quick, easy, and all-inclusive wine gift delivery across Canada & USA. Whether it's for a business contact, family member, or an old friend, we offer the best selection of high quality wines with simple flat-rate delivery on all orders. If faster delivery is preferred, we offer same day and next day options.

We are committed to providing superior customer service with our staff available to answer questions 7 days a week. By combining the unique and hard to find wines in a down to earth atmosphere, we are creating the ultimate wine shopping experience that offers much more than any fancy nose-in-the-air store.